Nit Picking Wardens..BEWARE!!!!!

I received this info in a series of emails:

The weekend of May 19-20 shore divers at Point Arena received citations for
not filling out their abalone report cards as soon as they reached shore.

The warden is going by a strict interpretation - it says "within 500 yards
on the shore" - not within 500 yards away from shore in your vehicle.

Fred Cochran who was there earlier told me that 3 vehicles (6 wardens) had just left.
They had a field day writing up  "500 yard" citations.



How does one keep their license safe and secure 'on shore' while they are diving? If I leave an unattended backpack on shore containing my license there is a very good chance it will not be there when I return.
I wish they would justify their existence by catching the real poachers instead of nit picking those of us who obey the intent of the law.
Just another way to make it easier for them to generate revenue from those of us who are legal.

this 500 yards stuff has been kicking around. you have to have your license within 500 yards of shore when you exit the water. if you are on a kayak you have to have it on the boat. i use a boogie board and i pack the license and a pen with me whenever i go and fill it out as soon as i exit. the wardens are cracking down this year and there have been many incidents of them getting down on all possible things.

best bet is to pack it with you. then you dont have to worry about anything getting ripped off.

john

29.15(h)  ...Persons diving from the shore shall keep the license and Abalone Permit Report
Card within 500 yards on the shore. Persons shall, immediately upon bringing ashore an
abalone, make a hole and completely remove the punched section from the report card in
one of the designated locations for each abalone taken, and record with indelible ink, the
date, time, and location code in the spaces provided adjacent to the hole...

This is the reg itself and it seems that you not only have to have it within 500 yds of where you are diving, but that you have to keep it and fill it out on the shore.  What if I want to take it with me?  It wouldn't be "on the shore" and I suppose I could still get a ticket.  Also, I suppose that means if you swim more than 500 yds from where you started (and left your card) you could also get a citation.  I've always kept mine in the car for safety, but I guess I'll be bringing a drybag out with me next time.   I probably still won't leave it on the shore to be stolen, but I'll have it with me when I exit the water.

Thinking about it more, I suppose I can see the point of not being allowed to keep the card in the car.  If someone managed to get to their car with out seeing a warden, they might be tempted to just take off and never fill out the card. Maybe this is a problem up around Pt. Arena and they're trying to stop it.  I would have hoped they'd give out warnings for a couple weeks so that the word gets out that the enforcement is being changed and then crack down later in the season.  However, in Sonoma county I've never been stopped at the beach or even when I got back to the car.  Usually, the wardens are either waiting at the exit of the park or on the side of the road (Hwy 1) pulling people over, checking cards, abalone, and gear.  In these cases, filling out on the beach or at the car wouldn't matter.

i think that a lot of people diving the more remote spots get away with not filling out the card a lot. there are only so many wardens and often people forget to do the cards. they get home and just leave it be.

not trying to bring up an old thorn but when i go abalone diving i see the majority of people checked are asian. i am asian so i make it a point to fill the card out asap to avoid any hassles.

it does not matter to me what kind of people they re targeting more or if in one they dont target, the point is that i make sure to be prepared in case i get stopped.

i dont think i have ever been stopped but i have seen a lot of people who did. i think i'll go ab diving soon: )

john

I received this info in a series of emails:

The weekend of May 19-20 shore divers at Point Arena received citations for
not filling out their abalone report cards as soon as they reached shore.

The warden is going by a strict interpretation - it says "within 500 yards
on the shore" - not within 500 yards away from shore in your vehicle.

Fred Cochran who was there earlier told me that 3 vehicles (6 wardens) had just left.
They had a field day writing up  "500 yard" citations.



How does one keep their license safe and secure 'on shore' while they are diving? If I leave an unattended backpack on shore containing my license there is a very good chance it will not be there when I return.
I wish they would justify their existence by catching the real poachers instead of nit picking those of us who obey the intent of the law.
Just another way to make it easier for them to generate revenue from those of us who are legal.

I asked you in a PM for an answer to this simple question below and you didnt respond. Maybe other posters will have an answer...
How are they able to "generate revenue" from you if you're..."legal"?

Used to be that wardens were like community sheriffs-they knew their constituency & could appreciate those that obeyed the intent of the F&G laws. These days its all "zero tolerance" which makes it easier to nitpick & takes less brainpower for the wardens. Do they pace off the 500 yards?

It seems like the dumbing down of an agency makes it tougher on folks who are really trying to do the right thing. I pretty much assume they see me as guilty of poaching initially and that I will have to prove I'm not to any warden. So I pack my license & any other paperwork I think I might need to back myself up.

But in the scenario of ab diving, like BSteves mentioned, does packing your license make you illegal according to a zero tolerance interpretation of the regs that say it should be on shore? Crazy!

I have all my license and supporting tools (pen, small scissors, zip ties, etc) stuffed into a nalgene bottle that I clip to my boogie board or yak. I figure better safe than sorry

29.15(h)  ...Persons diving from the shore shall keep the license and Abalone Permit Report
Card within 500 yards on the shore. Persons shall, immediately upon bringing ashore an
abalone, make a hole and completely remove the punched section from the report card in
one of the designated locations for each abalone taken, and record with indelible ink, the
date, time, and location code in the spaces provided adjacent to the hole...

If you are diving from shore, your report card must be within 500 yards from where you are diving at.  If you are planning to go past that 500 yards, then you must have your report card on you and you must fill it out as soon as you exited the water.

I received this info in a series of emails:

The weekend of May 19-20 shore divers at Point Arena received citations for
not filling out their abalone report cards as soon as they reached shore.

The warden is going by a strict interpretation - it says "within 500 yards
on the shore" - not within 500 yards away from shore in your vehicle.

Fred Cochran who was there earlier told me that 3 vehicles (6 wardens) had just left.
They had a field day writing up  "500 yard" citations.



How does one keep their license safe and secure 'on shore' while they are diving? If I leave an unattended backpack on shore containing my license there is a very good chance it will not be there when I return.
I wish they would justify their existence by catching the real poachers instead of nit picking those of us who obey the intent of the law.
Just another way to make it easier for them to generate revenue from those of us who are legal.

I asked you in a PM for an answer to this simple question below and you didnt respond. Maybe other posters will have an answer...
How are they able to "generate revenue" from you if you're..."legal"?

itsjust.mark...I wonder if you have any idea how impossible that law is to follow? It dosent even make any sense grammatically. Have you ever tried diving with a piece of paper and filling it out after being in 45deg water for over an hour?

Let me definitively answer your, imo nitpicky irrelevant question.

A warden hands out  a bunch of citations for an "iffy" offense. Maybe he writes 100 of these. These citations may be easily defended in court and won, but half of the people he wrote them to dont have the time or resources to make it to court. They have jobs to hold and mouths to feed, so they pay the fine, even though they did not break the law. badabing...revenue generated.

Nice first post!

itsNOTjust.sharky

I keep my stuff usually with the old lady on the shore! I freak out when I dont know what time it is. I try to fill out the card even before taking pics.. most of the time. If the old lady aint with me I will make big jim carry it! .... I have A hunch its only gonna get worse.....

I keep my stuff usually with the old lady on the shore! I freak out when I dont know what time it is. I try to fill out the card even before taking pics.. most of the time. If the old lady aint with me I will make big jim carry it! .... I have A hunch its only gonna get worse.....

I'll carry your license no worries as long as you carry my weights and shit like last sunday now that my back is screwed!!

 

Yeah, I try and tag ASAP upon leaving the water...even when the car/cooler of beer was right there I have been paranoid to grab a beer before filling out the card...

I think this year it is gonna be even more of a PITA than last year with the new report cards with no pre-punched holes or perforations...

I agree with sharky too...not a very friendly first post from Florida??? WTF?? They don't got no abalone over there!!

 

 

Sincerely,

Jim

I have a feeling he's not from Florida maybe sa
ta Cruz mountains?

maybe he's a warden, and this is his alias...

I received this info in a series of emails:

The weekend of May 19-20 shore divers at Point Arena received citations for
not filling out their abalone report cards as soon as they reached shore.

The warden is going by a strict interpretation - it says "within 500 yards
on the shore" - not within 500 yards away from shore in your vehicle.

Fred Cochran who was there earlier told me that 3 vehicles (6 wardens) had just left.
They had a field day writing up  "500 yard" citations.



How does one keep their license safe and secure 'on shore' while they are diving? If I leave an unattended backpack on shore containing my license there is a very good chance it will not be there when I return.
I wish they would justify their existence by catching the real poachers instead of nit picking those of us who obey the intent of the law.
Just another way to make it easier for them to generate revenue from those of us who are legal.

I asked you in a PM for an answer to this simple question below and you didnt respond. Maybe other posters will have an answer...
How are they able to "generate revenue" from you if you're..."legal"?

itsjust.mark...I wonder if you have any idea how impossible that law is to follow? It dosent even make any sense grammatically. Have you ever tried diving with a piece of paper and filling it out after being in 45deg water for over an hour?

Let me definitively answer your, imo nitpicky irrelevant question.

A warden hands out  a bunch of citations for an "iffy" offense. Maybe he writes 100 of these. These citations may be easily defended in court and won, but half of the people he wrote them to dont have the time or resources to make it to court. They have jobs to hold and mouths to feed, so they pay the fine, even though they did not break the law. badabing...revenue generated.

Nice first post!

itsNOTjust.sharky

Oh and some of drive 4hrs to get our Abs so going to court is not an option.

I asked you in a PM for an answer to this simple question below and you didnt respond. Maybe other posters will have an answer...
How are they able to "generate revenue" from you if you're..."legal"?
[/quote]






You pmed someone about a four year old post? This is hella old news.
Here in Cali sometimes tickets are written for BS reasons.
Like measuring your 9" abs with a 9" gauge.
But you do gotta tag your abs and fill out your card on the beach. Ancient history.